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Governments around the world are reviewing the existing setup for overseeing shale natural gas development and production to better regulate the industry that is experiencing rapid expansion, according to experts at a conference organized by the National Research Council. "The governors, state agencies, legislators, and commissions clearly dictate the relationship, and local governments have to try and work with it," said Charles Davis of Colorado State University. Although "most state oil and gas commissions were established to provide for the orderly development of resources," Davis said "it's necessary to look beyond legal definitions to other relationships."

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Energy regulators in North Dakota and other states "have done an awfully good job" in overseeing hydraulic fracturing and other natural-gas drilling operations on federal lands, said Harold Hamm, chairman and CEO of Continental Resources. The federal government should leave the task of regulating the industry to the states, Hamm said. "The geology differs state by state," he said. "The conditions differ state by state. Most of the rules we're involved with from a regulatory aspect have been adopted from the early producing states -- Oklahoma, Texas."

Governments around the world are reviewing the existing setup for overseeing shale natural gas development and production to better regulate the industry that is experiencing rapid expansion, according to experts at a conference organized by the National Research Council. "[T]he governors, state agencies, legislators, and commissions clearly dictate the relationship, and local governments have to try and work with it," said Charles Davis of the Colorado State University. Although "most state oil and gas commissions were established to provide for the orderly development of resources," Davis said "it's necessary to look beyond legal definitions to other relationships."

U.S. energy companies are interested in developing Brazil's shale natural gas resources, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. About a tenth of the shale gas reserves in the world are in Brazil, studies show. "Our government has made it clear that we think development of unconventional resources across the world could be a very good thing for the global hydrocarbon markets," Moniz said during his trip to Brazil.

Responsible natural gas development plays a key role in the fight against climate change, said Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. "EPA continues to work with states and other key stakeholders to help ensure that natural gas extraction does not come at the expense of public health and the environment," McCarthy said during her speech at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition expects most operators in the Marcellus play in Pennsylvania to choose federal rules in their air-quality improvement efforts instead of securing a state-sanctioned air quality plan. "A plan approval process takes a long time," said Patrick Creighton, a spokesman for the group.